Former United States President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama were in Ghana in 2009
Former United States President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, have served as executive producers of a documentary exploring Ghana’s independence history and efforts to preserve rare footage of the country’s founding years.
The 90-minute documentary, titled "The Eyes of Ghana", was directed by Ben Proudfoot and produced through the Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground Productions.
Private legal practitioner and New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, shared details of the documentary in a social media post, highlighting its focus on Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and the man who documented key moments of his leadership.
According to Gabby, “The story centres on Chris Hesse, Kwame Nkrumah’s personal cameraman.”
Hesse filmed Ghana’s independence era, Nkrumah’s leadership and the wider African liberation movement.
“Following the 1966 coup, much of this footage disappeared from public view,” Gabby wrote in the post share on X on October 16, 2026.
A key figure in the documentary is Ghanaian filmmaker and producer, Anita Afonu, who worked with Hesse to preserve the historical material and introduce it to a younger generation.
Gabby noted that Afonu works with Hesse will help bring the history to younger people, including through an intended public screening at the Rex cinema in Accra.
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The documentary combines Ghana’s political history with the personal story of an elderly filmmaker seeking to pass on his life’s work to a younger generation committed to preserving it.
According to Gabby, “Its significance goes beyond Nkrumah. It raises the question of who preserves and gets to tell Ghana’s history.”
He added that the footage offers “a Ghanaian perspective on independence and Pan-African ambition”, alongside a portrait of the people who recorded those events.
See Gabby's post below:
The Eyes of Ghana is a 90-minute documentary directed by Ben Proudfoot, with Barack and Michelle Obama as executive producers through Higher Ground Productions.
— Gabby Otchere-Darko (@GabbyDarko) October 16, 2026
The story centres on Chris Hesse, Kwame Nkrumah’s personal cameraman. Hesse filmed Ghana’s independence era, Nkrumah’s leadership and the wider African liberation movement. Following the 1966 coup, much of this footage disappeared from public view. This documentary follows his effort, in his nineties, to recover and return an archive of more than 1,300 film reels.
A central figure is Ghanaian filmmaker Anita Afonu, who is also a producer. She works with Hesse to bring this history to a younger generation, including through an intended public screening at the Rex cinema (does it still exist) in Accra. This gives the documentary both a historical story and a personal one: an elderly filmmaker passing his life’s work to someone determined to preserve it.
Its significance goes beyond Nkrumah. It raises the question of who preserves and gets to tell Ghana’s history. The footage offers a Ghanaian perspective on independence and Pan-African ambition, alongside a portrait of the people who recorded those events.
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